Start 2016 With This 30 Day Vocabulary Challenge – Intermediate English Learners
Your vocabulary is the foundation to your ability to think and to share your thoughts with other people. As an English learners, whether your goal is to improve general English or whether you are preparing for an exam such as IELTS, TOEFL, GRE or GMAT, learning vocabulary is a critical component of learning English.
So what is the best way to learn new words? Think of how children learn new words. They learn new words so much faster than adults. The reason is they are more receptive to words around them, so they try to actively add them to their vocabulary. Adults, on the other hand, try to memorize word lists which is not an effective way to learn new words. In our classes, we encourage students to immerse in vocabulary as much as possible and to use new words during Spoken English lessons with native English teachers.
Today, we would like to invite you to join our 30 day vocabulary challenge and to learn these 30 words, one new word a day. Remember, things like flash cards are helpful to a certain extent to memorize new words but the only long term way to absorb new vocabulary is by actively using them to real conversations.
So these are the 30 words we want to challenge you with. In this post we are listing the first 15 words of this challenge. In the 2nd part of this post we will list the next 15 words. These are more suited to students who already have a vocabulary of 300- 400 words, who are at an intermediate level but want to improve to the next level.
Seclusion
Aloneness; withdrawal from other people
E.g. The writer wanted to stay in seclusion so that he can focus on writing the novel without any disruptions
Nebulous
Unlcear; vague; hazy
Lisa ideas about her business are still a little nebulous at this point. If she wants to succeed she needs to prepare a more detailed business plan.
Influx
Arrival of large numbers of people or things
With the huge influx of refugees, countries like Germany, France and Poland were getting flooded with new immigrants
Chutzpah
Audacity
The young politician had so much chutzpah, some of the senior politicians felt it was hurting the party
Gambit
Ploy; scheme to get advantage
Ryan’s gambit to get a raise consisted of showing off to his boss that he did all the work
Pseudonym
False name; Alias
Dr. Seuss was the pseudonym of Theodor Seuss Geisel
Clandestine
Secret; usually for a evil purpose
The CIA was aware of the clandestine meetings the Syrian terrorists were having with the Iraqi rebel group.
Expunge
Erase; Eliminate any traces
After multiple safe driving courses, Mel was able to finally expunge her traffic violations from your record.
Homage
Respect; Reverence
The Taj Mahal is an iconic monument from ancient India, built to pay homage to Mumtaz Mahal.
Curb
Restrain; Control
I would drink a glass of water before every meal to curb my appetite.
Doldrums
Inactivity; low spirits
Carley has been in doldrums ever since her pet dog passed away
Quaint
Pleasant; old fashioned
Lerci is a quaint little town in Italy that has not become a major tourist attraction yet
Harbinger
a precursor; an indication
Amy saw a rainbow out of the window and viewed it as a harbinger of good luck before the interview
Dichotomy
Division into two contradictory part
There has always been a dichotomy between what Amir says and what he does
